“How awful,” Meredith gasps, crumpling the napkin in her hand. “What happened?”
Dad hesitates again, his eyes flickering towards Toby, and I know this can’t be good. But what he says next isn’t what I expect at all.
He clears his throat. “You may as well know. I’m sure you’ll hear it from someone, especially up at the school.” He pauses, clearly unsure how to proceed. “They found him in his office and he’d… well, he was found beheaded.”
We all gasp.
“Oh god.” Meredith reaches out and grasps mine and Toby’s hands across the table.
“What?” I can’t believe what he’s just said. “That’s so... Who kills someone like that?” I stutter. “Do they know who did it?”
Dad pulls the collar of his shirt away from his throat with two fingers. “I spoke with the police chief personally this afternoon, and currently they’re operating under the assumption that it was a terrible accident.”
There are a few beats of silence as we all stare at him.
The fire flickers in the hearth, and shadows jump around the room unsteadily.
“What?”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“You can’t really believe that.”
We all talk over each other in a rush.
He raises his hands, palms out, cutting us all off. “I’m sure they’re investigating all possibilities, but sadly, it looks like a terrible, terrible, tragedy. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go wandering the town by yourself right now, especially after dark, Katrina,” he says sternly.
“Well, if it was just an accident, why would me walking around town be an issue?” I counter.
He sighs and spreads his hands on the tabletop. “I’m just trying to protect you, Katrina.”
The way he sits there, not looking directly at me, makes me suspicious. His confidence had slipped for a moment, as if he was unsure just how much to say. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m sure my father knows more than he’s telling us.
6
When I wake up, thin light is streaming in through the curtains. I lie there for a while, thinking through the events of the day before. What a long day. First, the seemingly never-ending journey to get here, and then the house and the town, both stagnant and stuck in time. Reconnecting with my family and an old friend. Finding an heirloom from my long-gone ancestor. Meeting the intriguing Ichabod Crane had been the highlight of the day, only for it all to end on such an unsettling and frankly bizarre note when Dad told us about the death of the town doctor.
It had been quite a pleasant dinner until that point. Although, despite Meredith and Toby both assuring me Dad had been looking forward to my arrival, he didn’t seem all that happy that I’m here.
I roll over on to my back and stare at the ceiling.
Something is off. How could he possibly believe a man beheaded in his office was an accident? It makes no sense.What kind of accident would lead to that? How would that even happen? Did he slip on his own scalpel? Tangle and garrotte himself on the blinds?
And if it really was an accident, why was Dad so worried about me walking into town on my own, and warning me not to go out after dark? Something doesn’t add up. I’m not normally such a suspicious person, but he definitely knew more than he was letting on last night about Dr Larpin’s death.
Well, I’m not staying in this house all day. Fuck that.
I yawn and stretch.
Should I even stay here at all? It wasn’t my mother’s choice to live here, and it certainly isn’t mine. What will I even do in such a small town? Get a job in one of the local shops? Go to the university where my father is headmaster? But if I left, where would I go? The reason I’m back here is because I don’t have anywhere elsetogo. I don’t have any other family that I could stay with.
I push the covers back and reluctantly climb out of bed, grateful for the thick carpet in this room to press my toes into. Hugging my arms across my chest, I move to the window and open the curtains. Yesterday had been cold but bright. Today seems dark and gloomy, as if the sun is struggling to make it past the clouds. I sigh.
As I glance around the room for a pair of joggers to pull on, my phone pings from the dressing table. I pick it up and see a text on the home screen.
Got time for a coffee this morning? Brom x
I didn’t expect him to get in touch so soon. But given that I have no plans for this morning, today, or in fact any of my time here, I decide I may as well go and meet him.
